ice climbing

A frozen waterfall high above the Pitztal valley. The weather: ideal. Not too warm, not too cold, the sun peeking through the clouds now and then. Together with professional athlete Ines Papert, Gwen from LACRUX tackles a multi-pitch ice climb. She learns a great deal, from route planning and avalanche awareness to precise ice-cutting techniques. She's also using CAMP X-Dreams ice axes and Alpinist Tech crampons for a practical test.

From rock to steep ice lines: For many sport climbers, getting started on ice can be quite intimidating. Different techniques, different equipment, completely new conditions. But with the right setup and some know-how, getting started is surprisingly straightforward. At the "Eis Total" festival in the Pitztal Valley, we from the LACRUX editorial team, together with Black Diamond, tested how the transition from rock to ice works and what really matters. Our editor Gwen shares her impressions with you.

The two athletes, Ines Papert and Sarah Hueniken, explored the icefalls of Canada, specifically Helmcken Falls, Stanley Headwall, and Bow Valley. They discuss age, fear, and their climbing partnership. They were accompanied by a film crew. The resulting film is titled "Fifty-Fifty."

28-year-old Franziska Schönbächler from Biel sensationally won the gold medal in the Lead discipline at the European Ice Climbing Championships in Saas-Fee. Another outstanding performance came from 16-year-old Nils Dolf from Graubünden, who took second place in Speed.

South Tyrolean climbers Simon Gietl and Manuel Oberarzbacher have gifted us with a new mixed route in the Reintal valley just in time for Christmas! On November 23rd and 24th, the climbing team opened their line on the previously unclimbed granite wall, and only four days later, Gietl, together with Mario Kapelle, achieved a redpoint ascent of ARGOS (M9, WI6+) – an early highlight of the young ice climbing season.

The UIAA Ice Climbing Continental Cup will take place on November 22nd at the O'Bloc climbing hall in Ostermundigen. All information about the event, livestream, and for on-site visitors can be found here.

With Die Unfertigete, Peter von Känel and Silvan Schüpbach succeed in making the first ascent of a challenging trad drytooling route on the Stockhorn.

In mid-December, Simon Gietl and Manuel Oberarzbacher made the first ascent of the spectacular mixed route Hybrid on the Grödner Joch. With difficulties up to M8+ and WI6, the...

The climbing documentary Will Power has recently become freely available. The film follows the world-famous ice climber Will Gadd to the Taihang Mountains in China, where...

In some places there is already enough ice to swing the ice axes, in others it will take a few more cold days. For...

From January 10th to 12th, the East Tyrol Ice Climbing Festival will take place for the eighth time in the Matreier Tauerntal. Ice enthusiasts can look forward to lectures by...

Aluminum vs. steel: Today you will learn how ice screws behave under load and what difference the material makes.

The effects of global warming are clearly noticeable and visible in the Alpine regions. The mountains are changing rapidly. To protect what we love, we must reduce our carbon emissions to zero. The climate protection law, which Switzerland will vote on on June 2, creates the basis for this.

With the G-Tech, La Sportiva has developed an extremely light mountaineering boot that covers the entire range of technical mountaineering - from ice and mixed climbing to mountaineering in demanding mixed terrain. We took a closer look at the alpine miracle weapon from the Italian shoe specialist.

The Swiss professional alpinist Yannick Glatthard manages the first ascent of the Hall of Fame (400m, M13, WI6) in Kandersteg. The mega route with its 30 meter long horizontal roof and the gigantic freely hanging ice candle is probably one of the most challenging mixed lines in this style.

For the weekend we have two visually stunning films for you, both of which are about ice climbing: Stefan Siegrist repeats the legendary ice route Crack Baby near Kandersteg together with Michael Gruber, who was the first to climb it. Dani Arnold went in search of crazy ice lines in Iceland and struck gold.

Dry tooling is a highly effective strength and technique training for difficult ice and mixed climbing. Alpinists who want to be better and safer in mixed, alpine terrain also benefit enormously. More and more people practice dry tooling as an independent sport. This article provides a compact insight into the basics of this fascinating discipline.

Those who know nothing must believe everything. From myths about heat loss through the head to the question of whether women get colder than men. Eight facts on the subject.

Where and how to set up belays in multi-pitch ice climbing is highly safety-relevant. Building on the previous articles on assessing ice conditions and setting ice screws, ice climber, mountain guide and author Peter von Känel explains what is important when building belay stands in the ice.

The Swiss ice climbers made a strong showing at the UIAA World Cup and the European Championships taking place at the same time in Champagny-en-Vanoise: Vivien Labarile won two gold medals in the speed discipline, Petra Klingler won gold and silver and Benjamin Bosshard secured a silver medal. and a bronze medal.

When climbing ice falls you have the freedom and privilege to choose your own climbing line and belay it as you see fit. For the latter, ice screws play a central role. In this article, the ice climber, mountain guide and author Peter von Känel explains what is important when it comes to ice screws.

The Swiss ice climbers have a strong start in the Ice Climbing World Cup. At the first tour stop of the season in Cheongsong, South Korea, two Swiss women made it onto the podium. Reigning world champion Petra Klingler wins gold, teammate Sina Götz bronze.